chapter 11 Flashcards
What is comparative cognition approach?
Approach to the study of animal behavior that focuses on the mechanisms by which animals acquire, process, store and act on information from the environment.
What kinds of topics do the comparative cognition approach include?
perception, attention, learning, memory, spatial navigation, timing, counting, learning of perceptual&abstract concepts, problem solving and tool use.
TRUE OR FALSE. A more important characteristic of thinking in comparative cognition approach is that it can lead to actions that can be explained on the basis of the external stimuli an individual can experience at the time.
FALSE. it cannot be explained.
If I tell you that my friend is an advocate for cognitive ethology what does this mean?
It means they believe that animals are capable of conscious thoughts and intentionality.
What do advocates of cognitive ethology claim?
They claim that comparative cognition should encompass the full range of issues that are included in considerations of human cognition.
They also claim that nonhuman animals are capable of consciousness and intentionality based on the complexity, flexibility and cleverness of animal behaviors.
TRUE or FALSE. Advocates of cognitive ethology argue that the reason why animals are capable of clever and flexible behaviors is because of conscious intent.
TRUE.
What do experimental psychologists use the term comparative cognition for?
They follow the idea that objective evidence can’t give a demonstration of the existence or nn-existence of consciousness since consciousness can never be observed directly.
Contemporary experimental psychologists tie cognitive mechanisms closely to behavioral predictions. If this is their way of making sure that cognitive inferences can be supported or refuted by experimental evidence, what are does inferences?
They make inferences about the internal or cognitive machinery that mediates behavior in cases where simple S-R or reflex mechanisms are insufficient.
For experimental psychologists, what does comparative cognition refers to?
it refers to theoretical constructs and models used to explain aspects of behavior that cannot be readily characterized in terms of simple S-R mechanisms.
What is the problem of anthropomorphism in psychology?
It hampers knowledge of comparative cognition because they overemphasize human experience and they prejudge the conclusions that we may reach through systematic research.
What are the three stages that differentiates between learning and memory?
The first stage is the same for both learning and memory: the participants are exposed to certain kinds of stimuli or information. = Acquisition
The second stage is when the information that was acquired is retained for some time. =Retention interval
The third stage is when the participants are tested for their memory of the original experience. =Retrieval.
What is the difference between learning experiments and memory experiments?
Learning experiments focus on the manipulations of the conditions of acquisition whereas studies of memory on the conditions of retention and retrieval.
TRUE or FALSE. studies of memory does not employ long duration of retention intervals. The only retention intervals used are short because we cannot measure memory in long-term.
FALSE.
Do studies focus on the circumstances of retrieval?
Yes.
What is working memory?
The retention of recently acquired information just long enough to complete a task.
What is reference memory?
long-term retention of information necessary for the successful use of incoming and recently acquired information.
TRUE or FALSE. All successful uses of working memory require appropriate reference memories.
TRUE.
What is the Delayed-Matching-To-Sample procedure?
Keep in mind the 3 stages of memory
- In a DMS procedure, the partcipiant is presented with a sample stimulus that designates which response will be correct at the end of the trial.
- The stimulus is then removed for a retention period..
- The participant is then given a memory test consisting of two cues, one of which is the og sample. Choice of the og sample during the memory test is the correct response and will be reinforced if chosen.
Successful performance in a DMS procedure requires both working and reference memory. How do they work to produce a successful performance?
Working memory is involved in retaining information from the initial presentation of the sample to choice test at the end of the trial.
Reference memory is involved in remembering the basic structure of the task from one trial to the next.
TRUE OR FALSE. DMS procedures have been conducted in rats, monkeys, chimpanzees, dolphins, sea lions, dogs, harbor seals and goldfish.
FALSE. It wasn’t tested on dogs
For what purpose was the procedure adapted?
For the purpose to investigate how animals remember a variety of stimuli such as: shapes, numbers of responses performed, presence or absence of reward, spacial location of stimuli, the order of 2 successively presented events or which particular response the participant recently performed.
What aspects can help us determine how an organism will accurately perform of the Delayed-Matching-to-Sample procedure?
- Nature of the stimulus that serves as the sample.
- Duration of exposure to the sample stimulus at the start of the trial.
- The delay interval after the sample.
- Longer exposure leads to better performance.
- Longer interval leads to poorer performance.
What is the major factor that determines the rate of forgetting?
The retention interval during training. Longer retention intervals improves memory performance.
Investigators that use the DMS procedure usually begin training without delay between the sample stimulus and the choice stimuli on each trial. Who was it that departed from such method and why?
Sargisson and White, 2001, they introduced different delay intervals from the outset to see if better memory could be trained by using longer delay intervals from the beginning of training.
